Remote desktop applications have been developed so a user can access a remote desktop server (e.g., the user's home computer or the user's work computer) over the Internet using a routing server from any other computer (the remote desktop client) connected to the Internet. For a typical remote desktop scenario, it is very important that messages are passed with minimum delay through the routing server so the user does not experience unacceptable response times. For example, if the roundtrip message delay is approximately 150 milliseconds, a user will have a great experience, similar to sitting at the user's home or work computer. If the roundtrip message delay is approximately 250 milliseconds, the user experience may suffer, but is willing to accept the delay. And if the roundtrip message delay increases to approximately 350 milliseconds, the user experience will significantly degrade and user will have a very low satisfaction rate.
Also, it can be difficult to measure and calculate these delays because the three computer systems (the remote desktop client, the remote desktop server and the routing server) have clocks that cannot be synchronized.